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>Parts of centralized institutions will be obsolete or further decentralized to better fit local specificities. I predict something a bit different. ie - Most

>Parts of centralized institutions will be obsolete or further decentralized to better fit local specificities. I predict something a bit different. ie - Most "centralization" will move to the private sector, and they will become more and more powerful. Governments will become less and less powerful. Less and less able to check corporate hegemony. More and more decentralized as they weaken and fracture. Corporations, meanwhile, will consolidate powers. Become more and more independent of weaker decentralized governments that are, naturally, not going to be terribly unified in facing the corporates down.

SiempreViernes 7y ago
> Governments will become less and less powerful. And why would governments accept this?
- smolder 7y ago
  They won't. They'll build costly surveillance into everything and attack individual liberties for the sake of social control. They'll sap potential for positive disruption, out of paranoia, and ironically ensure the unsteerable inertia of existing institutions takes us all off a cliff.
  - SiempreViernes 7y ago
    Typically central government favours legislative solutions, it's primarily the gadget agencies that press for technology solutions. Though I admit sometimes the futurist manage to create a big hype around some technology and everyone pays lip service to the coming technology rapture.
  - sliken 7y ago
    Or they could say put a limit how big cooperation can be an enforce restrictions on each market. Don't let sprint and t-mobile merge for instance. Force companies over a certain market cap (say $10B) to split. That way governments could stay in control without stomping on the liberties and freedom of it's citizens.... after all the government is there at the service of the people... right?
    - smolder 7y ago
      It sounds good and I agree, but I think corruption runs too deep. Our government is flush with the money of profiteers and is weak in its collective will to uphold the principles that made it good.
vharuck 7y ago
So, the world will eventually become a high-tech network of city-state corps, each specializing in an industry and engaging in trade? Sounds like a good book.

SiempreViernes 7y ago

> Governments will become less and less powerful. And why would governments accept this?

smolder 7y ago
They won't. They'll build costly surveillance into everything and attack individual liberties for the sake of social control. They'll sap potential for positive disruption, out of paranoia, and ironically ensure the unsteerable inertia of existing institutions takes us all off a cliff.
- SiempreViernes 7y ago
  Typically central government favours legislative solutions, it's primarily the gadget agencies that press for technology solutions. Though I admit sometimes the futurist manage to create a big hype around some technology and everyone pays lip service to the coming technology rapture.
- sliken 7y ago
  Or they could say put a limit how big cooperation can be an enforce restrictions on each market. Don't let sprint and t-mobile merge for instance. Force companies over a certain market cap (say $10B) to split. That way governments could stay in control without stomping on the liberties and freedom of it's citizens.... after all the government is there at the service of the people... right?
  - smolder 7y ago
    It sounds good and I agree, but I think corruption runs too deep. Our government is flush with the money of profiteers and is weak in its collective will to uphold the principles that made it good.

vharuck 7y ago

So, the world will eventually become a high-tech network of city-state corps, each specializing in an industry and engaging in trade? Sounds like a good book.